Mini-interview with Jonny de Vries (White Goblin Games)

Jonny de Vries da White Goblin Games disponibilizou-se para falar com JE sobre a sua nova pérola – Rattus.

Rattus é um jogo de Åse Berg e Henrik Berg, que aborda a temática histórica da peste negra que dizimou metade da população europeia nos meados dos século XIV.

O jogo está a ser aguardado com algum entusiasmo pela comunidade mundial, quer pela temática que aborda como pela mecânica usada.

O que se segue é um pequena entrevista sobre Rattus e a perspectiva muito próxima do seu editor.

Para já a entrevista está disponível apenas em inglês, pelo facto pedimos as nossas desculpas!

JogoEu (JE) – Tell us about the history surrounding this game. How long do you started with this project?

Jonny de Vries (JdV) –  We worked about 1,5 year on the game. We got a prototype from Ase and Henrik Berg in the summer of 2008. I saw the potention of the game immediately and we put the game into testgroups.

The tests were very good and we decided to release the game for Nurnberg 2010. Since that first prototype we played a lot of Rattus games to eliminate strange decisions in gameplay. Together with the authors we structured the game and finally we signed Alexandre Roche for the artwork. We really love the artwork for the game and thank Alexandre for doing this wonderful job with us.

JE – When will be possible to buy Rattus? Later this year?

JdV – At this point there is a english/dutch/french/norwegian version (1st edition) that will sell out very quick if we look at the numbers of pre-orders and sold games. There is also a german stand-alone version with our german partner Huch&Friends. They will introduce the game also in Nurnberg next week. We have contact with several US publishers that showed interest in a stand-alone english version. After Nurnberg we expect also more stand-alone releases because our partners from all over the world asked for review copies to decide quickly if they join the 2nd edition this year or not. Don’t know how the game will be released in Portugal. There is no contact with portuguese or spanish partners at this stage.

JE – How much will it cost?

JdV – The game will have a MSRP of 27,50 Euros.

JE – What kind of gamers will love Rattus?

JdV – Rattus is a game for players of 10 years and older. Both gamers and casual players will love the easy gameplay but the theme is more appealing towards gamers.

We are now working on the first expansion (working title: Pied Piper, named after a new card); artwork is ready and we are now in the editing and translating phase for the project.

Somewhere in 2010 this expansion will be available. The game will grow with the years because we will introduce new mechanics and cards with each expansion to come.

For instance the Crusader that will appear in the Pied Piper expansion; this card allow you to move the Plague piece 1 or 2 steps (like the knight) but has a strong 2nd ability: you may look at the rats in the Plague region and decide the order of evaluation of the rats over there. So you can have influence on the “draw” of the rats. This is one example to show how many different game-setups players will have over the the next years.

In the future we will advise some card-setups for a specific gameplay. But the best fun will come when the players decide on their own which cards will be played with this time…

JE – In few word define Rattus.

JdV – Rattus is a quick strategic role-selection game with a luck-factor that can be influenced by the players. When you choose to play against the odds…then that is possible. When you decide to influence the odds in your favour then this is possible too. The fantastic feeling of the dilemma of taking characters to gain power over the board while simultaneously setting yourself up for future death. Quick changes on the gameboard will give you constantly the task to save your people for the Plague.